42 Posters - The Art and evolution of the Automotive, Grand Prix and La Mans Posters, from 1896 -1970, with footnotes

Roger de Valerio (1886 - 1951)
Citroen., ca. 1932
Lithograph
46.8 x 62.5 in. (119 x 159 cm).
Private collection

Roger de Valerio, pseudonym of Roger Laviron , born in Lille on May 16, 1886 and died in Paris on April 16, 1951 was a French illustrator , poster designer and painter.

de Valerio studied architecture at the École des Beaux-Arts in Paris . From 1911 to 1914 he worked as artistic director for the newspaper Le Matin . From 1917 to 1924, he joined the Salabert music publisher for which he produced more than 2,000 covers. In 1926, he was artistic advisor to Devambez , for whom he produced a few posters, then in 1932 he took over the management of the newspaper Le Rire.

From 1936 to 1940, he was associate director of Editions Perceval. In 1933, he taught at the technical school of advertising.

In 1940, he decided to retire to Belle-Île-en-Mer to devote himself to painting — especially nudes and still lifes of flowers — and then to book illustration.

For the magazine L'Art vivant d'october 1926, he declares “The first quality of a poster is to be seen and read […]. All means are good, the end justifies the means. More on Roger de Valerio

Jules Cheret poster from 1900
Poster
15 7/8 x 23 7/8 in./40.3 x 60.7 cm
Private collection

Jules Chéret (31 May 1836 – 23 September 1932) was a French painter and lithographer who became a master of Belle Époque poster art. He has been called the father of the modern poster.

Born in Paris to a poor but creative family of artisans, Chéret had a very limited education. At age thirteen, he began a three-year apprenticeship with a lithographer and then his interest in painting led him to take an art course at the École Nationale de Dessin. Like most other fledgling artists, Chéret studied the techniques of various artists, past and present, by visiting Paris museums.

From 1859 to 1866, he was trained in lithography in London, England, where he was strongly influenced by the British approach to poster design and printing. On returning to France, Chéret created vivid poster ads for the cabarets, music halls, and theaters such as the Eldorado, the Olympia, the Folies Bergère, Théâtre de l'Opéra, the Alcazar d'Été and the Moulin Rouge. He created posters and illustrations for the satirical weekly Le Courrier français.

According to the poster collector Ernest Maindron, who wrote the first essay about the illustrated poster in the Gazette des Beaux-Arts in 1884, and later published the first book on the subject (Les Affiches Illustrees) in 1886, Chéret, along with the brothers Léon and Alfred Choubrac, was among the pioneers of the illustrated poster.[1][2] In the early 1870s, Chéret and the Choubrac brothers reduced the cost of colour lithography introducing technical advances. More on Jules Chéret

Jules Alexandre Grün (French, 1868–1934)
[PNEUS FERRES GALLUS. 1901 , 1901
poster
42.5 x 61 cm. (16.7 x 24 in.)
Private collection

Jules-Alexandre Grün (25 May 1868 – 15 February 1938) was a French post-impressionist painter, poster artist, and illustrator.

Grun's best known painting is called The Dinner Party, produced in 1911. It was, however, in the fields of poster art and illustration art, for which he was famous. He was employed at a large printing company in Paris and his artistic director was Jules Chéret (above ). Chéret was also his main competitor in poster art. More on Jules-Alexandre Grün

Noël Dorville
Huile Rigal. 1904
Poster
17 x 21 3/4 in./43.2 x 55.2 cm
Private collection

While a crowd gathers around a broken-down vehicle in the background, this smug mechanic gestures towards his bottle of Rigal motor oil, apparently the key ingredient to keeping his boss's car running on the streets of Paris.

Noël Dorville, born in Mercurey, France in 1874, died in Cosne-sur-Loire in 1938, was a French painter who was known for newspaper cartoons and posters. He made many portraits of contemporary French politicians and writers. Dorville sketched at the 1899 trial of Alfred Dreyfus. He attended the Paris Peace Conference in 1919 as a journalist, making intimate drawings of participants such as Woodrow Wilson, David Lloyd George and Georges Clemenceau. More on Noël Dorville

MICH (Michel Liebeaux, 1881-1923)
Charron
Poster
11 x 14 5/8 in./17.8 x 37 cm
Private collection

Charron was a French automobile manufacturer, based in the Paris conurbation, and active between 1906 and 1930.

Although the company Automobiles Charron Limited was established (with a large injection of British finance) only in 1906 (and registered in 1907), its origins date from a business founded in 1901 called Automobiles Charron, Girardot et Voigt (C.G.V.). More on Charron

A Bobby is show fleeing from the signature red-and-black body of a Charron vehicle, exclaiming "What is it!?"

Jean-Marie Michel Liebeaux (1881-1923) is a caricaturist , a poster designer and a French cartoonist, who enjoyed some success in the early twentieth century , then in the 1920s .

Born in Périgueux on July 3rd, 1881, Michel Liebeaux studied painting in Nantes . A horse lover, he does his military service in the cavalry. Student of the painter Cauldron [Which one?] , He begins by publishing small local satires. In 1904, he moved to Paris where his drawings were inspired by the style of Sem , born like him in Périgueux, less acidic. Became a poster artist and cartoonist under the name of Mich , serving many brands, mainly related to the world of the cycle and the automobile: besides the poster for embrocation Chanteclair (1910), he is the father of the man pen for Onoto and remover with his dog for Hutchinson tires. He was behind several posters for major car manufacturers, especially for Citroën . As early as 1907 , he proposed a new album entitled À l'automobile , in the form of portraits of prominent personalities like Louis Vuitton , or Camille Jenatzy. He also contributes to the periodicals L'Echo de Paris , Fantasio and La Vie Parisienne . In 1912 , he exhibited at the Salon des humoristes fifty drawings of famous sportsmen. After 1918 , he became draftsman for the great sports daily of the time, L'Auto . Liébaux died at La Jaille-Yvon , Maine-et-Loire , in 1923 . More on Jean-Marie Michel Liebeaux

Jean de Paleologu
Automobile Show. 1910
Poster
24 3/4 x 34 7/8 in./63 x 88.5 cm
Private collection

The Service Corp, Troy, NY held annually since 1900, the New York International Automobile Show has always been one of the most important and largest events in the industry. This incredibly rare design by Pal was created during his stay in America. It stands in stark contrast to the sensuous imagery he was so well known for in Paris, mostly because American censorship rules and society in general would not stand for anything that raced in public. This is Pal at his restrained best.

Jean de Paleologu (or Paleologue) (1855 – 24 November 1942) was a Romanian poster artist, painter, and illustrator, who often used Pal or PAL as his signature or logo and was active in France and the United States.

Born in Bucharest, he trained in England, then returned to Romania and attended a military academy. He visited London again several times, then moved to Paris. He left Paris for the United States in 1900. More on Jean de Paleologu

Unknown artist
Nederlandsche Automobiel-Tentoonstelling. ca. 1920
Poster
30 1/8 x 52 5/8 in./76.5 x 133.6 cm
Private collection

Den Haag Summoning spectators with an handheld horn, a female Collosus straddles the roadway toward the Dutch Automobile Exhibition.

A. GARCIA
Reial Moto Club de Catalunya / Tarragona, c. 1922
Poster
19 5/8 x 26 1/8 in./49.8 x 66.4 cm
Private collection

Founded in 1916, the Royal Moto Club of Catalonia is a historic sports club, heavily active in the early days of automoible racing. In this rare design, a driver and his mechanic are show barreling around a corner along the Spanish coast. More on this work

A. GARCIA
Reial Moto Club de Catalunya / Tarragona, c.  1923
19 5/8 x 25 in./49.8 x 63.5 cm
Private collection

This image advertises a trophy named after Josep Maria Armangué, a pioneer of motor sports in Spain who died tragically in 1917. The award was introduced in 1921, making this its third event. This would also be the last year of the RMCC, as it would merge with the Royal Motor Club of Spain later in 1923.

I found no information on A. GARCIA

CLAYBAUGH
20th Annual Automobile Show / Buffalo, c.  1923
26 1/4 x 37 in./66.7 x 94 cm
Private collection

This rare design promotes the Buffalo Automobile Show at the 74th Armory, held annually since 1903.

JOSEP SEGRELLES (1885-1969)
Autodromo Nacional, c.  1923
26 3/8 x 21 in./67 x 53.3 cm
Private collection

Located just outside of Barcelona, the Sitges-Terramar racing circuit was designed and built in 1922 as an outlet for the newly-formed Autodromo Nacional. This breathtaking poster, seemingly giving us a worm's eye view beneath the speeding cars, was from the track's inaugural -- and only -- season. With unpaid construction bills piling up, contractors seized the gate money, causing the owners to be unable to pay the winning prize money to the drivers. A few minor races were held by independent groups in the mid-1920s and again in the 1950s, but the track has remained basically in disuse since 1923. This is the smaller format version of the poster. More on Sitges-Terramar

José Segrelles Albert (18 March 1885 - 3 March 1969) was a Spanish painter and illustrator. 

Segrelles was born in Albaida, Valencia province, in 1885. He studied in the Saint Charles Royal Academy of Fine Arts of Valencia[2] and at Escola de la Llotja in Barcelona.[2] His first job was in a photography studio, working with illumination.[3]

In 1926, already established as an artist in Spain, Segrelles received his first English lessons, foreseeing a possible departure to England. That very year he made an exhibition in London which was poorly received but on 8 September 1926 he received an offer from British magazines The Illustrated London News and The Sketch. Due his appearances in The Sketch, Segrelles received offers from the Scandinavian press. He published in The Illustrated London News's Christmas special in 1927, being a regular contributor in the Christmas specials until 1934.

In 1927 he established contacts with the American publishing industry, and received an offer the following year. Segrelles relocated to the Upper West Side, New York City in October, 1928. His first job was for Redbook magazine, and he would work also for The Cosmopolitan. In 1930 he staged his first art exhibition exhibition. By this time Cosmopolitan was one of the most popular magazines in America, highlighting Segrelles' work alongside other illustrators such as James Montgomery Flagg. In 1930 Segrelles met Joanne Cummings, Miss Cummings, who became his model.

In 1931, Segrelles exhibited at International Art Center Roerich Museum. US press coined the term Blue Segrelles referring to his dark pallette. The term was a comparison to Maxfield Parrish's Blue Parrish.

He died in his hometown of Albaida in 1969. More on José Segrelles Albert

LUCIEN PILLOT (1882-1973)
Ravel. ca. 1924
46 5/8 x 63 in./118.5 x 159.8 cm
Private collection

This short-lived automobile manufacturer based out of Besançon was only in production from 1923 to 1929. In this rare design, its very first model - the 12 CV - is shown climbing the steep, mountainous roads of rural France.

Lucien Pillot (1882-1973) was a pupil of Giacomott at The Ecole Des Beaux Arts De Besançon. Later in Paris he studied under M. L. Bonnat.

His art was influenced by Puvis De Chavannes and the Nabis.

He became a Professor at the Ecole des Beaux Arts de Besançon, and a member of the SAF in 1908.

The Museum of Fine Arts of Besançon has many of his works.

He did remarkable work with nature and landscapes and managed to create a unique atmosphere to his settings. More on Lucien Pillot 

LUCIAN BERNHARD (1883-1972) 
Automobil Ausstellung Berlin, c. 1924
37 3/8 x 27 in./94.7 x 68.7 cm
Private collection

Hollerbaum & Schmidt, Berlin Originally used in 1911 to announce the International Automotive Exposition, this design proved so popular that it was reissued for various motor shows for over another decade. Here, it announces the 1924 German Motor Show.

Lucian Bernhard (March 15, 1883 – May 29, 1972) was a German graphic designer, type designer, professor, interior designer, and artist during the first half of the twentieth century.

He was influential in helping create the design style known as Plakatstil (Poster Style), which used reductive imagery and flat-color as well as Sachplakat ('object poster') which restricted the image to simply the object being advertised and the brand name. 

Though he studied briefly at the Akademie in Munich, he was largely self-taught. He moved to Berlin in 1901 where he worked as a poster designer and art director for magazines. In 1920, he became a professor at the Akademie der Künste until 1923, when he emigrated to New York City. In 1928, he opened the Contempora Studio with Rockwell Kent, Paul Poiret, Bruno Paul, and Erich Mendelsohn where he worked as a graphic artist and interior designer. In Germany, Bernhard's typefaces were initially favored by the Nazi Party, but were later banned under the mistaken assumption that he was Jewish (largely due to his Jewish-sounding birth name). Later in life, Bernhard worked primarily as a painter and sculptor until his death on May 29, 1972. More on Lucian Bernhard

Lucian Bernhard 
Automobil Ausstellung, c. Berlin. 1931
23 x 16 in./58.5 x 40.6 cm
Private collection

Similar to the previous poster, Bernhard joins forces with his sometimes-collaborated Rosen to create this highly Aryan image of a driver at the wheel for the 1931 International Automobile Show in Berlin.

ANTONIO GARCÍA Y BELLIDO
1926 San Sebastian Spain Car Race Grand Prix Europe, c.  1926
28 3/4 x 39 1/2 in./73 x 100.3 cm
Private collection

Held from 1923 to 1930, the San Sebastián Grand Prix was the main automobile event in Spain since the Spanish Grand Prix had yet to obtain regulation status. In 1926, however, the race was even more important than usual as it was also the official race of the European Grand Prix. That year, Jules Goux of France would take home first place in his
Bugatti 39A's

I found no information on ANTONIO GARCÍA Y BELLIDO

Miguel Ángel Aguirreche
Spanish Grand Prix poster 1923 – V Circuito Automovilista, Gran Premio de San Sebastian – Aguirreche – 1927
26 5/8 x 37 3/4 in./67.5 x 95.8 cm
Private collection

This firey design by an otherwise unknown artist announces a series of racing events leading up to the 1927 Spanish Grand Prix. That year, Robert Benoist would sweep the racing scene, taking home the gold for the Grand Prix of France, Spain, Italy, and Great Britain in his Delage.

Henry Le Monnier (1893-1978)
Automobiles Unic. 1928
46 x 61 3/4 in./116.5 x 156.8 cm
Private collection

Founded by the famous bicycle manufacturer Georges Richard, Unic produced automobiles as early as 1906. This poster promotes the company's sports car division which first appeared in the 1920s, creating sleek, sexy automobiles that flew like arrows down the road.

Although Henry Le Monnier was mainly a poster artist and illustrator (for example, on Louis Desnoyers's 'Les Aventures de Robert-Robert' and Gilbert Dupé's 'La Route d'Honolulu'), he was also active in the comics field. Born in Paris, Le Monnier studied drawing and painting at the École Pilon and at the School for Decorative Arts in this city. As a poster artist, he worked for printers like Lutecia (1923-32), Joseph Charles (1934-43) and Gaillard (1934-54). In addition, he pursued a career in illustrating. He was present in Fantasia, Le Sourire, Le Journal Amusant, L'Oeuvre and Marianne during the 1920s and 1930s. More on Henry Le Monnier

Paul Colin (1892-1986)
Energol. ca. 1930
5 5/8 x 7 5/8 in./14.3 x 19.7 cm
Private collection

Created by BP, Energol is a lubricant for automotive gears. In this unrealized design, Colin shows that it is the perfect addition to your car, no matter what the season.

Paul Colin (27 June 1892 – 18 June 1985) born in Nancy, France, died in Nogent-sur-Marne. Paul Colin is a prolific master illustrator of Decorative Arts posters. And he is the brother of Alexandre-Marie Colin.[1]

Paul colin is a professional artist, scenographer, graphic designer and theatre painter. He specialises in theatre sets, book design and costume design. During his lifetime he created over 1900 posters and worked in theatre for more than 40 years. He was praised for the perfect combination of organic and graphic themes with geometric forms. He was influenced by Surrealism and Cubism, typically using very exaggerated shapes, striking colours and very stylised art forms in his work. He used a large palette of colours to emphasise the energy and meaning conveyed by his subjects, and his art is strongly in the style of the Art Deco movement. Many of his most famous illustrations were created for Jazz Age music and theatre. His designs incorporate jazz elements, bold and striking colors, Cubist and Surrealist. Highly stylized or caricaturized humanoids are strangely juxtaposed with geometrically overlapping objects such as Cubist collages. His own background in painting and his love of theatre helped him to become one of the most important French poster artists of the 1920s and 1930s. More on Paul Colin

Roger Pérot (1908-1976)
Delahaye, c. 1932
47 x 62 1/2 in./119.4 x 158.8 cm
Private collection

The Delahaye coming over the horizon makes for one of the most perfect automobile posters ever created. The positioning of the type parallel with the horizon line is especially effective. Although the public most fondly remembers Delahaye as a fast French sporting and racing car of the late 1930s, the marque actually had a sixty-year span beginning in 1894. It was dropped only in 1954 when the company was taken over by Hotchkiss, a truck maker.

Delahaye was a family-owned automobile manufacturing company, founded by Émile Delahaye in 1894 in Tours, France. Manufacturing was moved to Paris following incorporation with two unrelated brothers-in-law as equal partners in 1898. The company built a low volume line of limited production luxury cars with coachbuilt bodies; trucks; utility and commercial vehicles; busses; and fire-trucks. Delahaye made a number of technical innovations in its early years; and, after establishing a racing department in 1932, the company came to particular prominence in France in the mid-to-late 1930s, with its Type 138, Type 135SC, and type 145 cars winning numerous races, and setting International records. The company faced setbacks due to the Second World War, and was taken over by amalgamation with arch competitor Hotchkiss in 1954. Both were taken over by the Brandt organization, within mere months, with automotive product manufacturing ended. More on Delahaye

Roger Pérot (1908 - 1976) French draughtsman. Illustrator and poster artist. Pérot created the famous poster for corsets: “Le Furet. le rêve de la femme” and for tobacco: “Offrez les tabacs de la régie française.”

JEAN PILLOD (1904-1964) 
Castrol / Bugatti, c.  933
23 1/4 x 31 1/4 in./59 x 79.5 cm
Private collection

Born out of feud between Vacuum Oil Company and Viscount Charles Wakefield, Castrol was the latter's first project as a competing corporation. Derived in part from castor oil, this product acted as a lubricant for a variety of vehicles, noted in particular here as being best for your Bugatti.

Jean Pillod was born in 1904 and was predominantly influenced by the 1920s growing up. Significant artistic developments that had been established in the earlier part of the 20th century continued to be matured during the 1920s and 1930s. At this time the careers of a number of influential and pioneering artists began to blossom, yet at the same time there was an atmosphere of consideration and solemnity following the horrors of the First World War. Major shifts in politics were happening worldwide, and Marxism took a strong hold as an ideology amongst artist groups and communities. The leading focus for art during this time was on Freudian theory and the human subconscious, and these ideas were best portrayed by artists including Salvador Dali, Giorgio de Chirico, Andre Breton, Rene Magritte and Paul Delvaux, whilst in Paris, artists such as Brancusi, Modigliani and Soutine developed methods of art which were vivid and dynamic. Due to its cultural importance, Surrealism spread as an philosophy on an international scale, and became the leading theme of the pictorial arts in the 1920s. The Bauhaus movement developed during this time and concentrated on a unification of all modes of art, working towards the idea of the ‘Gesamtkunstwerk’. The liberal politics of the Weimar Republic in Germany enabled this movement to blossom and grow and develop further. More on Jean Pillod

Pierre Louÿs, Belgian (Active in France) | 1870 - 1925
Citroën / Une 8 CV., c. 1933
 46 5/8 x 63 in./118.3 x 160 cm
Private collection

This Citroën poster points to the winning performance of its racer with an 8-cylinder engine. The text announces that the "Petite Rosalie" racer drove 300,000 km in 134 days, averaging 93 km per hour, and notes that it used the same engine that would appear in every regular passenger car.

Pierre Louÿs (10 December 1870 – 4 June 1925) was a French poet and writer, most renowned for lesbian and classical themes in some of his writings. He is known as a writer who sought to "express pagan sensuality with stylistic perfection". He was made first a Chevalier and then an Officer of the Légion d'honneur for his contributions to French literature. More on Pierre Louÿs

Unknown artist
Goodyear G3., c. 1937
28 1/8 x 41 5/8 in./71.5 x 105.8 cm
Private collection

Developed during the era when Goodyear was finally becoming a multinational brand, their G3 all-weather tires promised faster stopping power on both wet and dry roads. This image is a fabulous example of photomontage.

Briche
Saint-Gaudens / Grand Prix du Comminges, c. 1948
23 1/2 x 30 1/2 in./59.8 x 77.6 cm
Private collection

Toulouse Originally created as a two-week festival to attract tourists to Gascony, the Grand Prix du Comminges gradually became an important leg of the French racing season. Here, a Maserati 4CLT breezes through a classic colonnade -- a fun coincidence as Luigi VIlloresi won that year in the same car.

The XIV Grand Prix du Comminges was a Formula One motor race held on 8 August 1948 in Saint-Gaudens, Haute-Garonne, France. Luigi Villoresi, driving a Maserati 4CLT/48, qualified on pole, set fastest lap and won the race by a margin of four and a half minutes. Talbot-Lago drivers "Raph" and Louis Chiron were second and third

I have no information about this artist!

M. HEUGA
Grand Prix / Pau. c. 1954
23 1/2 x 37 7/8 in./59.6 x 96.3 cm 
Private collection

Publi Pyrénées was first run in 1930, the Pau Grand Prix takes over actual city roads to form a dynamic racing circuit. In this particular year, the crowd count broke all previous records as Jean Behra drove to victory in his SImca-Gordini.

I have no information about this artist!

Michel Beligond (1927-1973)
24 Heures du Mans, c. 1958
11 1/4 x 15 in./28.6 x 38.2 cm Imp.
Private collection

Paris Characterized by periods of torrential downpour and brilliant sunshine, the 1958 24 Hours of Le Mans ended with Ferrari coming in ahead against Aston Martin and Jaguar. Interestingly, Beligond's evocatively streaky nighttime scene features the #24 car - a Peerless Motors entered in the 2-litre GT class - which won its class.

I have no information about this artist!

Belligond Michel (French, 1927-1973) 
24 H du Mans. 1959
15 5/8 x 21 3/8 in./39.7 x 54.4 cm Imp.
Private collection

Typically known as the Le Mans start, this poster captures the precise moment when the drivers have to run from one side of the track to their cars -- all lined up in qualifying order on the opposite side of the front stretch -- and drive away without any assistance. In the background, we see the filled grandstands lined with the flags of all the countries represented in the race. 

The 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans was the 27th 24 Hours of Le Mans, Grand Prix of Endurance, and took place on 20 and 21 June 1959, on Circuit de la Sarthe. It was also the fourth round of the F.I.A. World Sports Car Championship. The prospect of an exciting duel between Ferrari, Aston Martin and giantkillers Porsche was enough to draw large crowds and some 150,000 spectators gathered for France's classic sports car race, around the 8.38-mile course.

Aston Martin finally achieved the coveted outright win, doing it with a 1-2 finish. The marque had first entered the Le Mans race in 1928, running every race since 1931 and had finished second three times and third twice before this victory. More on The 1959 24 Hours of Le Mans

I have no information about this artist!

Belligond Michel (French, 1927-1973) 
24 Heures du Mans, c. 1962
15 1/2 x 22 1/2 in./39.4 x 57 cm Imp.
Private collection

The 1962 24 hour Le Mans race was both the 30th Grand Prix of Endurance and the eighth round of the World Sportscar Championship. Leading the pack here is Phil Hill, winner of the previous year's race, in a Ferrari 250 TRI/61, right at the end of the Mulsanne Straight. He and his partner Olivier Gendebien would go on to win that year's race.

Unknown artist
Silverstone. 1960
19 7/8 x 29 3/4 in./50.5 x 75.5 cm
Private collection

The Silverstone Circuit in England first hosted the British Grand Prix in 1948. In this particular year, Innes Ireland of the UK came in first in his Lotus 18.

Unknown artist
Gran Premio d'Europa, c. 1960
37 1/2 x 53 1/4 in./95 x 135.3 cm
Private collection

Although the Monza track had been hosting Formula One events since its inception, this particular Grand Prix proved troublesome enough to have most of the major British teams (Cooper, BRM, & Lotus) pull out, resulting in a mostly collection of Formula 1 & 2 cars as well as many private entrants. The American Phil Hill came in first in his Ferrari.

Jacques Ramel
22e grand prix / 10 Mai 1964
15 x 23 1/4 in./38 x 59 cm
Private collection

Nice A clever way of implying extreme speed, the car and driver barely form a solid mass against this otherwise simple, untextured landscape. Graham Hill would go on to with that year's Grand Prix.

Jacques Ramel (1913-1999) was a poster artist living in France; he signed his poster artwork J RAMEL. His most famous posters were produced for the Monaco Grand Prix in mid 1950's. He also produced posters for other automobile events such as the speed trials in Nice on the cote d'Azur. More on Jacques Ramel


Stuart Booth
Monaco Grand Prix 1933
The Rivals - Bugatti 35 & Alfa Romeo
Oil on canvas
120” x 24”
Private collection

This was the first Grand Prix where grid positions were decided by practice time rather than the established method of balloting. Achille Varzi and Tazio Nuvolari exchanged the lead many times during the race and the race was settled in Varzi's favour on the final lap when Nuvolari's car caught fire due to over-revving. Nuvolari was then disqualified due to outside assistance while attempting to push his car to the finish.

Stuart Booth was born in London towards the end of the second world war, read engineering at Bath University in the swinging 60’s, leading to a career as a Chartered Engineer, first in airframe design and then in the electricity generating industry. Now in retirement he has been able to indulge his lifelong interests in all
forms of transport by land, sea and air, but especially his passion for Formula 1 Grand Prix racing and sports car racing; combining this with his love of painting results in vibrant artwork, in oils on canvas. More on Stuart Booth


Géo Ham, Georges Hamel, 1900-1972
Monaco / 22 Avril 1935
31 3/8 x 47 1/4 in./79.6 x 120 cm Imp
Private collection

With the Nazi regime fully in control of Germany, the Mercedes-Benz team arrived with the most powerful cars ever used in Grand Prix history, easily winning first prize. With Italian driver Luigi Fazioli at the wheel, the 3.99-liter Mercedes W25 model led from start to finish, never seriously challenged by the three Alfa Romeos and the Maserati that took the next four spots. On the poster, Ham puts us right in the action, against the glittering background of sun-drenched Monte Carlo.

Géo Ham, Georges Hamel (18 September 1900 in Laval, Mayenne, France – June 1972 in Paris) was a French painter and illustrator.

He is known for his illustrations of aeroplanes or automobiles which appeared in L'Illustration.

In 1918, he was received at the École nationale supérieure des arts décoratifs.

He was appointed as an Official Peintre de l'Air in 1931.


GEO HAM (Georges Hamel, 1900-1972)
Monaco Grand Prix 1936
31 1/8 x 46 1/2 in./79 x 118 cm
Private collection

“Geo Ham’s 1936 poster brilliantly depicts the battle between Germans and Italians in the Monaco race. Here a stylish Auto Union GL, the first of the rear-engine racecars, leads a red Alfa Romeo through an extremely tight turn. The masterful portrayal of the intense competition at the races is wonderfully contrasted to the normally serene harbor and city. Ham’s orange-tinted course amplifies the heat of the race and his white speed lines accentuate the velocity of the cars . . . here again are Ham’s signature palm tree and scarf blowing in the wind” (Monaco, p. 30). In 1936 it was a real race again, and in the hard rain -- with one car losing oil -- cars were spinning all over the place. Chiron, Fagioli and Nuvolari were the casualties; Rudi Caraccioli, driving for the German team, managed to nurse his Mercedes through to win. More on Monaco Grand Prix 1936


George Hamel
MONACO 8 AUGUST 1937
Vintage lithograph printed by Editions Clouet, Paris
1000 x 700mm
Private collection

The last Grand Prix before the outbreak of World War II. The power of the Germans with their 5.66 litre, 645 bhp, Mercedes W125 running on a mix of alcohol, acetone and nitro, consuming 1l per km and the 6 litre, 520 bhp, Auto Union's effectively leave everything else in the shadows. Before this decisive race Mercedes and Auto Union are level on points at the top of the championship. With the absence of Nuvolari, the German teams dominate the practice sessions, five of their seven cars clock times of under 1'50" and fill up the first two lines of the grid, only Farina, driving an Alfa Romeo 312, gets near them with a time of 1'53.4" and none of the three Maserati's are able to get in under two minutes. After a fierce duel with his fellow Mercedes driver Von Brauchitsch, Caracciola takes pole position with a time of 1'47.5", beating his previous record by nine seconds. More on The last Grand Prix before the outbreak of World War II


Jacques RAMEL ET J. MAY
Monaco Grand Prix 1955
95,5 x 65,5 cm. (37 1/2 x 25 3/4 in.)
Arte Paris- Musée de l'automobiliste

Stirling Moss had been signed by Mercedes for the new season and Maserati had replaced him with Jean Behra. The Silver Arrows of Fangio and Moss dominated, running 1-2 until half distance, trailed by Ascari and Castellotti. At the halfway mark, Fangio retired with transmission trouble, giving the lead to Moss. Almost a lap ahead, a seemingly sure win for Moss was ended on Lap 80 when his Benz's engine blew. The new leader Ascari got it all wrong at the chicane coming out of the tunnel, his Lancia crashing through the barriers into the harbour and having to swim to safety. Maurice Trintignant, in a Ferrari 625 thought to be uncompetitive, inherited the lead and scored his first Formula One victory. More on Monaco Grand Prix 1955

Michael Turner  (1934- ) 
Monaco Grand Prix 1965
15 1/2 x 23 7/8 in./39.3 x 60.7 cm 
Private collection

Nice One of many designs by Turner for the Monaco Grand Prix, this one saw the victory of England's Graham Hill. It was also the Formula One race in which Japan debuted its Honda team.

Michael Turner (born 1934) is a British illustrator who specialises in motoring and aviation paintings. He is regarded as one of the early examples of such type and is one of the most highly regarded of all.[1][2] Turner counts racing drivers, teams, sponsors, pilots, motor and aircraft manufacturers, R.A.F. (Royal Air Force) and Army messes, museums and private collections as his client lists and has hosted a number of solo shows all over the world, plus other specialist shows. More on Michael Turner

Michael Turner
Monaco Grand Prix 1966
15 5/8 x 23 3/4 in./39.7 x 60.3 cm
Private collection

A sweeping view of the Monte-Carlo seaside in the background, Turner presents one of his better Grand Prix designs. This was the first year in which three-litre engines were used, as well as the début season for the McLaren team. Adding additional excitement was that a few scenes in the movie Grand Prix were filmed during the race. In the end, Jackie Stewart came in first in his BRM. This is #131 from the special deluxe edition of the poster.

Michael Turner
Monaco 1967
15 3/4 x 24 in./40 x 61 cm
Private collection

Offset against the Byzantine church and stone archways of the old city, the Formula One cars of the 25th annual Monaco Grand Prix fly around the turn. This was the first and only time Australia ever won a World Championship, with Denny Hulme taking first place. Hand-signed by the artist.

Michael Turner
Monaco 1968
23 3/4 x 15 5/8 in./60.4 x 40 cm
Private collection

The 1968 Monaco Grand Prix was held at the Monte Carlo Circuit on 26 May 1968. It was race 3 of 12 in both the 1968 World Championship of Drivers and the 1968 International Cup for Formula One Manufacturers. The race was won by Lotus driver Graham Hill, who started from pole position. Richard Attwood, driving for BRM, gained second place and fastest lap, while Lucien Bianchi finished in third position in a Cooper, in what was to be these two drivers' only podium finishes. More on Monaco 1968

Michael Turner
Monaco / 9-10 mai 1970
15 1/2 x 23 5/8 in./39.4 x 60.2 cm 
Private collection

The 1970 race provided down-to-the-wire excitement as Jack Brabham led the entire race only to go into the bales two turns from the finish line. He regained control of his vehicle, but not in time to catch Jochen Rindt, who took the chequered flag.



Acknowledgement: PAI-LXVII: Rare Posters

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